Eye in the Sky Bk 02: Artifact Ch. 03

"Look what they're doing, Ben. I knew it. They couldn't wait to kiss."

"Now you stop that and look somewhere else," her sister told her. "Can't a girl have a kiss without you embarrassing her?"

Bannon laughed. "I might kiss Ben, too, and you can't look either then."

Ben flushed beet red, but he liked the idea of kissing Bannon. He took her hand and led her forward so that they would be out of sight. He wasn't sure how he felt about his Dad watching him kiss a girl.

They spent two weeks island hopping. They played in the ocean, shopped at the stores, took in the local entertainments and caught up on all the tourist things that Kane and Bannon hadn't done on Darby Island during their last vacation. They spent hours a day soaking in the sun, lying naked on the back deck and the boys were forbidden to come aft of the main cabin. Their tans deepened into deepwater proportions and their hair became even lighter. The contrast of the deeply tanned skin, nearly white hair and flashing white teeth was stunning. They turned heads at every port and they enjoyed the attention.

Kane met with representatives from the three publishers she had contacted at Phillipsburg on St. Martin. Her legal team accompanied her, and she had asked Oliver to go, but he refused to get involved.

"You're my agent and you need to get your feet wet," he told her. "You'll be fine. You have the manuscript, you've got your legal team and I know the first agent you're meeting with. She won't stand a chance against you. Believe me, wear something sexy and she won't be able to take her eyes off of you. I don't know the other two, but they're men. They'll be hitting on you before the deal is over. You just tell them you're already in a relationship."

"Am I in a relationship, Oliver?"

"I'm going slowly with you, Kane. I haven't pushed things along but I want to be in a relationship with you. I hope this is a relationship."

She kissed him. "I'm just teasing you, Oliver. Of course we're in a relationship. I'm thankful that you're going slowly. I've been kind of confused with the whole job/boyfriend thing. I thought it might be awkward, but it isn't. Push me a little, okay?"

"Those are the words I've been waiting to hear," he pulled her close and stroked her back. She had on her usual bikini top, and her bare skin felt like warm silk. She eagerly pushed herself against him and ran her hand up over his chest under his shirt. She traced his pectoral muscle in a line to one nipple and pinched it gently.

"That's what I'm talking about," she murmured against his lips. "Now let me go so I can get dressed."

He slid his hand down her back and just under the waistband of her shorts, running his fingers across the tops of two smooth swells and she shuddered and pulled away.

"Walk me to my cabin?" she asked.

He put his arm over her shoulders, they walked inside the cabin and found Bannon and Ben playing their eternal game of chess.

"Did you kiss her yet, son?" he asked Ben.

The boy blushed furiously and looked at Bannon. She shook her head and he looked at his father.

"A gentleman never tells," he said.

Oliver and Kane laughed. "That means he has," Kane told him. "Way to go, tiger."

Ben enjoyed being called tiger, and he felt like one. This beautiful vision had let him kiss her and he couldn't get enough.

Kane showered and changed. When she emerged, she was dressed in a long dark blue dress, cut high up one leg and with one bare shoulder. Her hair was swept up and she posed for them. One leg was forward and the toned brown thigh was exposed. "How do I look?"

"I think you look gorgeous," Ben told her. "They don't stand a chance."

"You're more beautiful than I've ever seen you," Bannon said. "You look like a princess."

"You'll be wonderful and you look wonderful," Oliver told her. "Get your case. There's a car waiting for you on the dock. I'll walk you out. The car will stay and when you finish, call me and we'll go to a nice restaurant and celebrate. How does that sound?"

Everyone loved the idea and he took her arm and walked her down the gangway to the car. He kissed her, she got in and they drove away.

The negotiation was not as difficult as she feared. She was well prepared and her legal team handled the details. She discovered that the publishers were very surprised that she was handling Oliver's book. Apparently, he had used two large agency firms in the past and they had not expected someone so young. Oliver was right about her charming the agents, and the two men did ask her if she had an evening free. When she told them she was staying on Oliver's boat and they were leaving in the morning, their disappointment was visible.

She took what she thought was the best deal, and her legal team agreed. She got the royalty agreement up to 30 percent by playing them against one another, and got the highest advance Oliver had ever received. She signed a contract for the other two books in the trilogy and refused to set a deadline. The publisher pushed hard for that, but she was firm that Oliver would not accept a deadline. The whole negotiation took five hours, and she was feeling the stress when she called Oliver.

She got in the car and they picked up the others at The Nimbus. They had all dressed for the occasion. Oliver and Ben wore charcoal tropical flannels and they had taken Bannon shopping and she had bought a deep ruby dress that was long and backless. Kane realized that her little sister was a beautiful woman. Her breasts swelled beautifully and their sibling relationship was apparent. Her hips had flared dramatically in the last five years and she was a vision in red.

They ate and then went dancing. There were hundreds of outdoor parties going on, and they joined one and stayed until the wee hours of the morning, celebrating Kane's deal.

They slept until noon the next day and The Nimbus was underway when they woke up. They were ready to go home, and by the time they got to Darby Island they were ready to go ashore.

Their legs felt a little weird after so long at sea, but they soon became accustomed to being on land again and they spent the next few hours getting the girls unpacked and settled in. Several large crates of their things had been delivered from Belfast, and they spent the rest of the day getting their rooms like they wanted them. Kane loved her new space in the library.

"This is going to be so cool working here with you," she told Oliver. "I love my desk, but I don't know about that Apple computer. I've never used one before."

"It's kind of the standard among us hipster types," he told her. "I need machines that I can depend on to do what I tell them to do without crashing all the time or doing things I don't like on their own. You'll get used to it."

They went to bed early and the next morning they all lifted weights together in the gym. The girls thought Oliver was unbelievably strong, and Ben was also lifting very heavy weights.

The girls did lots of repetitions of small weights and after a shower, they decided to go for a picnic in the trees. They found a grassy glade and spread their things out on two quilts on the grass. Bannon and Ben wandered off for a while exploring and found a small cave. They didn't have any lights, so they walked back to the house and got three flashlights. By the time they got back, it was lunch time and they decided to go swimming after lunch.

The two boys went ahead and Kane walked with Bannon. The two girls held hands and swung their arms while they walked.

"Hey Bannon," Kane said. "Remember when we were in St. Martin and we heard those four people talking about the nude beaches on the French side?"

"Yes, I remember. Why do you ask?"

"What would you think about making our own nude beach here?"

"I'd be embarrassed, Kane. Jesus, I can't believe you're asking me that."

"No one would see us but Oliver and Ben. Wouldn't you like to see Ben naked?"

"Well, yes, but I'm not so sure about him seeing me naked. Oliver, either, for that matter. What if they think I'm ugly?"

"They won't. No one would. You're a very beautiful girl, baby. You are going to be way more beautiful than me. Any man that thinks you're ugly is insane. So what do you think? Let's shock them."

Bannon's eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Okay, Sis, let's do it. But you have to go first. They'll look at you and I won't feel so embarrassed."

"No way, we'll both do it together. Believe me, they'll love it."

When they arrived at the beach ten minutes later, they were hot and sweaty. Ben and Oliver were already in the water, swimming lazily in the lagoon and they watched the girls walk down the beach.

They stopped to take of their shorts and t-shirts and hung them on a bush. They walked together to the edge of the water. "Are you ready?" Kane asked.

"No, but let's do it anyway."

They reached behind their backs, untied the strings of their tops and let them drop to the sand. Ben and Oliver stood in chest deep water and their jaws dropped. The girls untied the strings of one another's bottoms and they were beautifully and gloriously naked.

Their breasts bounced as they ran shrieking into the water and covered themselves in the gentle swells. Oliver and Ben quickly swam over and Kane shooed them away.

"There are no clothes allowed in this end of the lagoon," she told them. "If you're going to swim over here you have to be naked."

Oliver looked at Ben and they both swam quickly to the shallow water and threw their trunks on the beach. They swam back to the girls and each took a sleek brown body into their arms.

Bannon kissed Ben for a moment, then splashed him and swam away. They moved down the beach playing in the water and Kane molded herself to Oliver.

He lifted her body out of the water until her big brown breasts were floating on the surface. He gazed down at them in awe. Her nipples and areole were a light brown, almost the same color as her skin. She had large areole and small nipples, forming a small cone shape on the tip of each breast.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he told her. "Those are the sweetest breasts on earth. You're perfect, Kane. I can't believe some man hasn't swept you off your feet and married you."

She blushed. "I haven't had time for a man to sweep me off my feet. I've never shown my boobs to another man besides you, Oliver. There's always been Bannon to take care of, and with working and going to school and playing volleyball, I just never had time for boys."

"Well, I can't believe they never had time for you."

"No, they did, but after while they just quit trying. I always said no when they asked me out, and I guess they just gave up. I was never interested in a man until I met you, Oliver. I could never afford to be interested in them. I had Bannon, and that was enough. I always dreamed about being with a man, but that was all for the future. You did that for me. I don't have to worry about her anymore. She loves Ben and she loves you, and I can let my guard down. I'm very much looking forward to that."

"Did you girls plan this? Tell me it wasn't Bannon's idea."

"No, it was my idea. Wasn't it a good one? This is our own private nude beach. I guess this is me pushing you a little. Are you mad?"

"Good God, no," he raised her up a little higher and captured one firm little cone with his lips. He stretched it and flicked the hard little nipple with his tongue. She moaned and shuddered in his arms and he was surprised at the strength of her reaction. She pulled his head into her breast and continued to shake as she writhed in his arms. As her shudders died she pushed his head away.

"My God, Oliver, I've never felt anything like that," she gasped. "You're driving me wild."

"I like wild," he told her.

He carried her toward the beach until they were standing in knee deep water

"Stay right there," he told her.

He stepped back and feasted his eyes on her beauty. The large breasts stood proudly and her waist was tiny, flaring into rounded hips. The fine hair between her legs was white against the tanned thighs and her legs were long and muscular.

Her eyes were drawn down over the ridges of his abdomen and she caught her breath as she saw his excitement.

"Jesus, Oliver, you'll kill me with that thing," she said. "There's no way this is going to work." She panicked a little at his size and crossed her hands over her little patch.

He laughed. "I'll bet that's what you say to all the guys, Relax, Kane, I'm not going to ravish you here on the beach."

He walked back close to her and picked her up in his arms easily. He carried her up the beach to a patch of soft grass and laid her down. He moved his lips to her other breast and captured it in his hand while he nuzzled at the firm mound. Again she gasped as she shuddered beneath him. He worked his way down across her stomach and put his tongue into her navel. Her stomach sank away as she caught her breath and he kissed his way down between her thighs. She tangled her fingers in his hair and clutched his head to her. When he reached her center she gasped and moaned, arching her back and then bridging up as she cried out in completion. She continued to cry out until she tugged urgently at his hair.

"No more, Oliver. I can't stand anymore."

He kissed his way back up her marvelous body and she locked her lips to him and rolled over on top of him. She made her own journey of discovery and when her lips closed over him he drowned in the moist heat. His release was explosive and his groan of pleasure matched hers.

She returned to his lips and lay with her cheek on his chest and one arm and leg across him, pressing her curls against his thigh and one big breast pressed flat against his ribs.

"Oh my God," she breathed. "That was the most incredibly awesome thing I've ever done." She looked up at his face, her brilliant blue eyes heavy lidded with languor. "Thank you Oliver. That was exactly what I wanted to do with you. Later, I'll want to do more, but this is enough for now."

"It was incredible," he sighed. "You make me very happy. Are you happy, Kane?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded. "I think I'll nap for a minute. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I never want to be anywhere else."

He reached down and ran his hand over her butt. "I didn't get to play with this though. Do you mind if I do it now while you nap?"

She wiggled it provocatively. "Please do. I love it. What do you think Ben and Bannon are doing?"

"Probably something similar. I don't think they'll get so far. They're both pretty young but I expect they'll play around and explore a bit. I'm not worried about them, are you?"

"No, I think they're fine. They're both so smart and grown up. They're going to be a lot smarter than us, Oliver. They know exactly what they're doing all the time. Bannon has had her life planned out exactly for years and she would never do anything that's not in the plan. I suspect it's the same with Ben. Stop talking to me now, I'm sleepy."

He stroked and caressed her as she drifted off, his hands drawn again and again to the two cheeks of her incredible butt and to the big brown breast against his chest. He drifted off with his fingers buried in one silky mound.

Bannon and Ben had played around a bit. She allowed him to play with her breasts and she had taken a tentative stroke of two of her own, but the lure of the cave drew them and they went back for their clothes. They saw Oliver and Kane asleep on the grass and giggled as they got dressed.

"Do you think they did it?" she asked him.

"Maybe," he said. "I expect they will soon if they didn't. They look pretty worn out. Let's get our lights and see what's inside the cave."

"You don't think there will be animals or snakes inside?"

"There are no snakes on this island and no dangerous animals except the iguanas. I don't think they would live in the cave. They like the tall grass and the beach and I think it would be colder in the cave than they'd like."

"I'd like to see one of them," she told him.

"We'll go find some tomorrow. Maybe after that we could come back here and swim some more," he eyed her disappearing form with disapproval.

"We don't have to be here for you to see me naked," she told him. "Any time you want you can come to my room."

"Really? I mean, that's great, Bannon. I'll probably come every day. You're the hottest girl I've ever seen."

She laughed. "You're not so bad yourself, Ben. If you don't come I'll probably come to your room."

They held hands and walked up the trail to the picnic spot and picked up their flashlights. The entrance to the cave was covered with vines, some of them years old and it took them a while to clear them away enough to enter. They turned on the lights and looked around. They were in a small room with formations shining on the walls where the water dripped and ran down forming a small pool in the center of the room. It looked as if someone had built a fire at some point near the pool, and two passages opened off the room to the left.

They poked around for a while and Bannon found the remains of a leather strap of some sort with a buckle on it. The buckle appeared to be silver, and it had writing on it. They couldn't make out the letters without cleaning it up, and Bannon gave it to Ben to put in his pocket.

They took the first passage on the left and it soon came to a dead end. They retraced their steps and tried the other passage. The roof of the passage sloped down and they had to crouch and then crawl to get through. Bannon disliked the feel of the wet clay of the floor on her knees and was ready to turn back. Ben persuaded her to go just a little further and almost immediately the passage opened into a huge room. Someone had piled rocks into a large mound on one side of the room and there had been several fires built in the center. They pulled a few rocks off the pile and Bannon caught a glimpse of something metal under the rocks.

They removed rocks more energetically and soon uncovered a small wooden chest bound with iron straps. The straps were rusted and the wood wasn't in very good shape either. There were no obvious holes in the wood and it survived them dragging it out to the center of the room.

"I wonder what's inside." Ben said.

"I don't know, do you want to open it?"

"Yes, I think so. Do you think we ought to get Dad and Kane?"

"Let's see what it is first."

The hinges broke when they lifted the lid and there was a book wrapped in canvas inside. They lifted the book out and saw another small canvas wrapped bundle under the book. They took both the items and crawled back through the passage and took them outside. Oliver and Kane were lying on a blanket when they emerged and they ran across to show them their treasures. They examined the buckle and decided that with a little soap and water they might be able to make out the markings. The book was a mystery. Oliver was reluctant to do much with it because it was so old and fragile. They wrapped it back up and looked inside the second canvas wrapping. It contained a small statue, very old and intricately carved. It appeared to be of a goat-like man with wings. The goat on the frontispiece had a pentagram on its forehead, with one point at the top, a symbol of light, his two hands forming a sign. One pointed up to a white moon, the other pointing down to a black one. One arm appeared to be female, the other male There was a flame shining between his horns. A rod stood where genitals should have been, the body covered with scales, and there was a semi-circle above it that appeared covered with feathers and it also had two breasts. It was covered with very small writing that appeared to be some unknown language.

"What do you think it is?" Bannon asked.

"I have no idea," Oliver turned it over in his hands. "It looks like a small idol of some kind. From where or how old it is, I have no idea."